After Ren’s departure, Wendy finally made a big decision in her life. She decided to retire from adventuring and open a pizza shop in the city of Vermont. The idea had come from one of her past conversations with Ren, and she was convinced that this was a safer and more stable path for her future.
Fortunately, Lady Eleanor was intrigued by the concept of this new type of food and agreed to become the main investor in Wendy’s business. With enough capital and Eleanor’s support, Wendy began building her first restaurant in the city center. Though she initially faced many challenges—from sourcing the right ingredients to convincing her first customers—she never gave up.
Over time, the restaurant gained widespread recognition for its unique menu, offering flavors that couldn’t be found anywhere else. Pizza became a new specialty of Vermont, alongside its already famous mining industry. Merchants from other cities even started visiting just to get a taste of her special dishes. Within a few months, Wendy’s business grew rapidly, completely changing her life.
Meanwhile, Ren’s journey was relatively uneventful. Aside from a few broken roads and the occasional encounter with small monsters near the city borders, there weren’t any significant obstacles. With no major challenges in sight, he spent most of his time focusing on perfecting his personal project.
During his travels, Ren began designing and crafting his own armor. Using the materials and resources he had gathered from previous hunts, he didn’t want to fall behind when it came to his own protection. Every night, he dedicated time to refining his designs and testing the durability of his materials.
Two weeks later, he finally neared the Elven border. A dense forest stretched out on the horizon, with towering trees blocking out much of the sunlight. From this point on, new challenges were bound to arise.
Ren brought his car to a stop at the top of a hill, just before the road sloped down toward the border fortress. Calmly, he grabbed the binoculars hanging from the dashboard and scanned the area ahead. He wasn’t about to charge in blindly without first assessing the situation.
As his eyes swept over the fortress, his brow furrowed. The once-sturdy stone walls now had several gaping holes. Signs of explosions and scattered debris surrounded the main gate, as if a fierce battle had recently taken place.
"Hmm... What is this?" Ren muttered, his voice laced with curiosity and caution.
Focusing his binoculars further, he spotted corpses strewn across the battlefield. Some wore the distinct armor of the Elven forces, while others donned unfamiliar uniforms—likely soldiers from another kingdom.
(An invasion? Or just a border skirmish?) he wondered, analyzing the situation. The aftermath of the battle looked fresh—possibly from just a few days or even hours ago.
Ren lowered his binoculars, leaning back against his car seat as he contemplated his next move. If the fortress had already fallen, that meant the main route was no longer safe. However, if he opted for an alternate path, he would have to venture through the dense forest, which posed its own set of dangers.
Taking a deep breath, he finally made his decision.
"Well... I guess I should check it out myself." he murmured before starting the engine and slowly driving toward the now eerily silent fortress.
As he got closer, the stench of battle grew stronger, filling the air with the acrid scent of burnt wood, charred flesh, and the metallic tang of fresh blood. The surroundings were littered with bodies and debris, creating a hauntingly quiet yet tension-filled atmosphere.
Ren kept his eyes sharp, scanning his surroundings carefully. Meanwhile, in the backseat, Bella and Alfred began growling softly, sensing the presence of nearby strangers. Their predatory instincts kicked in, ready to react at a moment’s notice.
"Looks like an invasion... Should I just ask them directly?" Ren mused casually, despite the gravity of the situation.
He brought his car to a stop near the shattered fortress gate, watching as a group of human soldiers approached.
The moment they spotted the strange vehicle, they immediately raised their weapons, their stances tense and alert. However, the moment Ren stepped out of the car, their expressions shifted.
A man with dark, bluish-black hair, wearing unfamiliar yet clearly human attire. Seeing him, the soldiers slowly lowered their weapons, still wary but no longer as hostile.
One of them, a man in light armor who seemed to hold a higher rank, stepped forward. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice filled with suspicion but not outright hostility.
Ren casually slid his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and offered a small smile. "Just a traveler passing through... and wondering what exactly happened here."
"As you can see, we’re at war."
Ren maintained his relaxed expression, though his mind was already analyzing the new information. So, this wasn’t just a simple conflict—it was an outright territorial expansion, openly violating their non-aggression treaty.
"War, huh?" Ren raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I thought your kingdom had already signed a peace treaty with the elves?"
The soldier in front of him nodded firmly, his face devoid of any remorse. "That’s true," he admitted without hesitation. "But our king has big ambitions. This land is too valuable to leave untouched, so we struck before they had a chance to prepare."
Ren frowned slightly, already feeling disgusted by their blatant arrogance. But before he could respond, another soldier chimed in with a sneer.
"Speaking of which," the man said, grinning smugly, "I really enjoyed watching our commander humiliate that elf girl."
Ren paused, his body stiffening for a split second.
"Elf girl?" he asked, his voice noticeably colder.
"Yeah, a pretty one with silver hair. I think she was the elven princess, wasn’t she? People call her the ’Flower of the Southern Forest’ or something like that." The soldier chuckled, his expression filled with twisted pride as if boasting about some great achievement.
Ren didn’t respond right away. He simply stood there, staring at the man with an unreadable expression. But for anyone perceptive enough, the atmosphere around him had begun to shift.
From inside the car, Bella and Alfred growled lowly, sensing the sudden change in their master’s mood. The air around them grew heavier, and the other soldiers started to realize that something about the man before them was... different.
Ren exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a brief moment.
Then, in a motion so subtle it was almost imperceptible, his hand—still in his hoodie pocket—tightened around something.
When he finally opened his eyes again, the laid-back look he had before was gone.
What replaced it was the gaze of a predator that had just found its prey.